Railway-track construction.



T. GATGHINGS.

RAILWAY TRACK CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION rmnnuu 1a, 1911.

1,003,703. 1 Patented Sept. 19.1911.

vyumoz provision of arail 1 tion, reference is to full away.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- TOM CATGHIN GS, 015 JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, A SSIGNOR TO ISAAC BRACEY OF JACKSON,

' MISSISSIIPI'.

RAIL AY-manor: consraocrroiv.

Serial No. 626,799.

To all whom it may concern:

e it known that I, ToM Onronmcs, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Jackson, in the county of Hinds and State of Mississippi, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway- Track Constructions, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates in general to railways, and more particularly to an improved .method of track construction whereby the rails are retained securely in position upon the ties without the necessity .of employing spikes or similar fastening members, and whereby the abutting ends of the rails are held rigidly against both' vertical and lateral displacement.

The invention. further contemplates the joint which is inexpensi-ve in its construction, which securely holds the rail ends against relative dis placement, and which comprises few and durable parts such as can be used repeatedly without deterioration.

With these and other objects in view, the

invention consists in certain combinations and arrangements of the parts as will more y appear as the description roceeds, the novel features thereof being pomted out in the appended claims.

For a full understanding of the invendescriptionand accompanying drawings, in which I Figure 1 is a perspective view of one side of a portion of a track constructed in accordance with the invention. Fig; 2; is'a side view of the joint. Fig. 3 is an end view of the joint, the rail being shown in section and portions of the tie being broken Fig. ,4 is a detail perspective view of one of the side plates, and Fig. 5 is a similar view of the guard plate.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to-in the following description and 3 indicated in all the views of the drawings which may be of any section and which are mounted upon the by the same reference characters.

Specifically describing the embodiment ties 2. These ties are preferably: constructed of sheet metal and have a How retain the rail ends securely against vertibe had to the following 4 formation, the top of the ties being'formed with dovetail notches 3 to receive the bases of the rails. In this manner'the rails are held securely against spreading or lateral displacement without the necessity of usin spikes or similar fastening members. Such a construction will be found particularly advantageous upon curves where the lateral thrust upon the rails is very great, and where the usual spikes are continually working loose. The ties 2 preferably have a transversely arched formation, the lower edges of the tie bein extended outwardly so as to obtain a firm bearing u on the road bed which may be of any suitable construction The abutting ends of thetwo rails 1 are located immediately over one of the ties 2 and fish plates 4.- are applied to the web portions of the rail ends upon opposite sides thereof, the said fish plates being held in position by means of the usual bolts 5. Vertical plates 6 are-rigidly secured in some suitable manner as by means of the bolts 7 to the two sides of the tie 2 upon each side of the rails, the said plates being provided at their inner ends with the notches 8 which engage the bases of the rails and cooperate with the dove tail notch 3 in the tie to cal displacement. It will also be observed that the inner end of each of the plates 6 is formed with an upward extension which Patented Sept. 10, 1911. w

carries a -laterally projecting wing 9, the

said wings fitting against the fish plates 4 and being engaged by the same bolts 5 which hold the fish plates in position. These lates bear a ainst the heads of the rails ut are slight y spaced from the bases of the rails, and the .lower edges of the wings 9 are formed with the longitudinal ribs 10 which extend under the bottom of the fish plates so as to cooperate with the same to form a solid filling between the heads and bases of the rails. It will also be observed that the upward extension 6 at the inner ends of the vertical plates are provided with the flanges 11' which engage the top of the tie 2 and tend to prevent any sagging of the plates 6.

In order to prevent dirt and foreign matter from accumulatin between .the extensions 6 of'the outer p ates 6, a guard plate 12 may be em loyed. This guard plate fits between the e ges of the extensions 6, the

inner end-of the guard plate being extended downwardly at 13 and bearing against the fish plate 4:, while the outer end of the guard plate is extended outwardly at 14 and secured to the tie 2 by means of the bolts 15.

With the foregoing construction, it will be obvious that the rail ends are mounted in such a manner as torender any relative verticalor lateral displacement of the same practically impossible. A joint will thus be provided which will prevent rounding of the fvvill enable the rollin over without the. usua jolts and jars.

rails at the extremities'thereof and which stock to pass there- I-laving thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of the abutting ends of apairof rails, .20

a tie supporting the same, fish plates applied to the webs of the rails, and plates secured to' the sides of the tie on each side of the rails, the said plates being- "provided with lateral wings which bear and the said wings against the fish plates one of being formed with ribs'which engage the edges oi the fish plate.

2. The combination of the abutting ends of a pair of rails, a tie supporting the same, fish plates applied to the web portions ofthe rails, the said fish plates abutting agalnst' the heads of the rails but being spaced from the bases of the rails, and plates secured to the sides of the tie on each side of the rails,

' the said plates being formed-with upward extensionswhich terminate lateral wings adapted to fit against the fish plates, the said lateral wingsbeing formed with ribs adafp ed to fit between'th'e lower edges ofthe plates and the bases of the rails.

3. The combination of the abutting ends of a pair'of rails, a tie supporting the same ends thereof notched for engagement with the bases of the rails and being formed with upward extensions terminating in lateral wings the said lateral wings being formed with ribs designed to fit between the lower edges of the fish plates and the bases of the rails.

adapted to fit against the fish plates,-

sh v 4. The combination of the abutting ends of a pair of rails, a tie supportingthe same, plates securedto the sides of the tie on each side of the rails andformed with upward extensions terminating in lateral wings designed to fit against the sides of the rails,

and a guard plate fitted between the edges of the said upper extensions of the plates.

In testimon whereof I aifix my signature inpresence o ,two'witnesses.

TOM OATGHINGS.

Witnesses:

O. F. LAWRENCE, Gno. B. POWER.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

I Washington, D. G. 

